Rediscovering the Weapon of Peace

by Fr. Roger J. Landry - October 6, 2006

Rediscovering The Weapon of Peace

When told that Pope Pius XII opposed his policies, Joseph Stalin derisively responded, "How many battalions does the Pope have?" To someone convinced that might makes right, that the force of an argument or cause is determined by military power alone, the fact that the pope had no tanks, no bombs and no commandoes was all that needed to be said.

In the last month, the worldly vulnerability of the Pope has again been on display. Some Muslim extremists, who trust more in guns than in God, have called for his death. The irrational and violent overreactions to the Pope's words in Regensburg have led many to begin to question whether dialogue and peace with and within the Muslim world are possible, and have led others to ask whether a global war flowing from a clash of civilizations is inevitable.

On the first day of October, during his Sunday Angelus, Pope Benedict indirectly responded to these anxieties by asking Catholics throughout the world to dust off one of the most effective arms in the Church's arsenal — one that would never have appeared on Stalin's intelligence reports — and put them to good use. He asked Catholics to lift up their rosary beads and pray for peace.

Benedict began his appeal by inviting Catholics to imitate the example of Pope John Paul II, whom he called a "great apostle of the Rosary," one who "kneeling with beads in his hands, immersed in the contemplation of Christ," would, among other things, help to bring down the empire Stalin built. Benedict called us to re-read his predecessor's beautiful apostolic letter on the Rosary and to recite this exalted prayer as a family, as communities and parishes, for the intentions of the Pope, for the mission of the Church and for peace in the world.

In his letter inaugurating the Year of the Rosary four years ago this month, John Paul II wrote extensively about the connection between this prayer and peace. " The Church has always attributed particular efficacy to this prayer," he said, "entrusting to the Rosary… the most difficult problems. At times when Christianity itself seemed under threat, its deliverance was attributed to the power of this prayer, and Our Lady of the Rosary was acclaimed as the one whose intercession brought salvation."

Doubtless John Paul II had in mind the October 7, 1571 Battle of Lepanto, in which a coalition of European and Christian forces defeated the Ottoman navy in a battle that many historians think was the only thing that prevented Europe from becoming Muslim. During that battle, Rosary confraternities throughout Rome, led by Pope St. Pius V, prayed for God's assistance in the battle. The almost miraculous victory and consequent gratitude to God that ensued, led to the establishment of the feast of Our Lady of Victory one year later. That feast became, with the passage of time, the feast we celebrate tomorrow, Our Lady of the Rosary.

"The grave challenges confronting the world at the start of this new Millennium," John Paul continued, "lead us to think that only an intervention from on high, capable of guiding the hearts of those living in situations of conflict and those governing the destinies of nations, can give reason to hope for a brighter future."

The pope then articulated why the Rosary is a particularly effective means for bringing about peace. "The Rosary is by its nature a prayer for peace, since it consists in the contemplation of Christ, the Prince of Peace, the one who is 'our peace' (Eph 2:14). Anyone who assimilates the mystery of Christ – and this is clearly the goal of the Rosary – learns the secret of peace and makes it his life's project.

"The Rosary is also a prayer for peace because of the fruits of charity which it produces. When prayed well in a truly meditative way, the Rosary leads to an encounter with Christ in his mysteries and so cannot fail to draw attention to the face of Christ in others, especially in the most afflicted.

"By focusing our eyes on Christ, the Rosary also makes us peacemakers in the world. By its nature as an insistent choral petition in harmony with Christ's invitation to 'pray ceaselessly' (Lk 18:1), the Rosary allows us to hope that, even today, the difficult 'battle' for peace can be won. Far from offering an escape from the problems of the world, the Rosary obliges us to see them with responsible and generous eyes, and obtains for us the strength to face them with the certainty of God's help and the firm intention of bearing witness in every situation to 'love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony' (Col 3:14)."

Pope John Paul II concluded his letter by saying that "a prayer so easy and yet so rich truly deserves to be rediscovered by the Christian community."

This month of October is a privileged occasion, his successor is saying, for each of us to make that rediscovery.

And like a modern day Uncle Sam, he is calling us all to join Mary's battalions. This is the means by which the "difficult battle for peace can be won."

Father Roger J. Landry is pastor of St. Anthony of Padua in New Bedford, MA and Executive Editor of The Anchor, the weekly newspaper of the Diocese of Fall River.